In order to save a highly regarded recruiting class back in January of 2016, Ole Miss allegedly attempted to blame potential NCAA violations on former coach Houston Nutt. If that is indeed what happened, Nutt has just gotten his revenge.
In the end, it was Houston Nutt’s involvement that led to Hugh Freeze stepping down from his position as head coach at Ole Miss — which the school announced Thursday evening.
In a report from Dan Wolken of USA TODAY Sports, Freeze allegedly placed a call to an escort service on a university-issued phone. The call was recently discovered by Houston Nutt’s attorney, Thomas Mars, which led to an email to Ole Miss counsel Lee Tyner.
Here’s how Mars described the call in an email to Ole Miss:
“phone call Coach Freeze made that would be highly embarrassing for all of you and extremely difficult to explain.”
Here’s some additional information regarding the call per Wolken’s report:
The call, which was made on the evening of Jan. 19, 2016, to a Detroit (313) area code, lasts just one minute, according to e-mails exchanged between the two parties. But the phone number is associated with several Web sites advertising a female escort based in Tampa, Fla., USA TODAY Sports has independently confirmed. The phone number has been disconnected.
Leading up to Freeze’s appearance at SEC Media Days last week, Nutt and his attorney filed a defamation suit against Ole Miss and Freeze stemming from the allegations dating back to January of 2016. Freeze declined to discuss the matter, citing an ongoing legal case, but his appearance caused a mini-firestorm down in Hoover during the final day of the event.
During his awkward filibuster to open his Media Days press conference, Freeze alluded to the fact he never gets to focus on his players down in Hoover thanks to the off-the-field issues annually surrounding his program. Due to Nutt digging up Freeze’s phone records, it appears the former Ole Miss coach will now never have that chance.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
